4 Ways to Live by Your Organization’s Core Values

Do your people know what your organization’s core values are?  

If the answer is no, it’s probably because organizational values are often buried in employee manuals or corporate documents that nobody reads.  

Your people should not only know what your core values are but understand how to work in a way that aligns with those values to drive culture and performance.  

How do we do this? It’s actually much easier than you think.

The key lies in refocusing on your mission, vision, and values. This article explores how organizational values can drive belonging, well-being, employee engagement, and reduced turnover, ultimately leading to a resilient workforce and a thriving culture.

Organizational Values and the Bottom Line

Organizational core values are a powerful tool that should not be overlooked. When values are translated into specific behaviors, they guide employees in their work, fostering a meaningful and valuable contribution to the organization.  

Clear values give every member of your organization a sense of direction:

• They outline the definition of success in every task and interaction.

• The right core values can drive belonging and well-being.

• They can improve employee engagement and reduce turnover.  

But most importantly, tying performance measurement and recognition to those fundamental values enables you to build a resilient workforce with a robust culture.  

According to Gallup, the problem is only 23% of employees strongly agree that they can apply their organization's values to their everyday work.

Does this problem sound all too familiar? Follow these four steps to bridge the gap.  

1. Define What Your Values Look Like in Action

Sometimes values seem too aspirational; or worse, just corporate jargon.

Core values don’t need to be complex – they should be on brand, easy to understand, and resonate with employees.

Identify specific behaviors and tie them to each core value to make them more clear. In doing so, you give your team guidance. Your values become their North Star, directing their  day-to-day decisions to best reflect your company.

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Break down behaviors that could be tied to particular values, including Integrity – the most popular value in US companies, according to a recent MIT Study.

Action Step: Take time during your next management meeting to define critical behaviors for each core value. If you struggle to do so, it may be time to revisit and refine your values.

Download the full Employee Engagement Strategy Guide to learn more on the importance of company core values.

2. Communicate Values Consistently and Often

To ensure your values drive the desired culture and performance, your people need to know them.  Your values should have a prominent presence and be easily accessible.  

Get creative in spreading the word. Incorporate values into office décor, display them in email signatures, or customize Zoom backgrounds and company intranet homepage for remote teams.

Connect and communicate your corporate values and reinforce them daily – they are the foundation of your ideal workplace culture.

Action Step: Develop a clever acronym to make your values easier to remember, but ensure it aligns with your values and is not the sole determinant.  

3. Recruit and Hire with Your Values in Mind

Once you've identified key behaviors tied to your values, start looking for candidates who exhibit those behaviors during the hiring process. Openly share your values and communicate to candidates the importance of value-alignment.  

A great example of a company who has done this successfully is Oliver+, a Kudos client since 2021. Operating fully remotely with employees around the globe, Oliver+ is using Kudos to help reinforce their company values in its distributed workforce. From onboarding to an employee’s last day, Oliver+’s values are instilled throughout the entire employee experience.  

Read the full Oliver+ case study.  

“Kudos has helped instill our company values in such an easy way. We don’t need to do anything, our people are doing it for us, every day.” - Andre van der Merwe, General Manager, Oliver+

Action Step: Work with your HR team to create behavioral interview questions that assess candidates' alignment with your core values. Here are some practical behavioral-style interview questions to get you started.

4. Recognize and Reward Value-aligned Behaviors

One of the most effective ways to reinforce values in your corporate culture is by recognizing and rewarding behaviors that align with those values.  

This can be done formally through performance reviews and informally through regular recognition. Informal recognition keeps values top of mind and contributes to building the desired organizational culture.

Action Step: Consider implementing an employee recognition and engagement platform, like Kudos, to facilitate daily peer recognition that reinforces specific value-aligned behaviors.

Strong Core Values Drive Business Success

Corporate core values are a powerful tool that should not be ignored or brushed over. These values form the foundation of your company’s identity and guide behavior.  

The right values have the power to connect workforces and drive everyone toward a shared goal. When values are distilled from broad and aspirational statements into clear behaviors, employees are equipped with clear expectations.  

This allows your people to do their job in a meaningful and valuable way, leading to happier teams who will stay, grow and champion your company culture.